Broken Promise
by Eleria-chan
Summary: The Guardians are falling one after another. Archeus is finally fed up of humanity. The war between humans and divine beings is coming, and no force on earth could stop the wrath of God. Grantedshipping. Lance x Yellow. Medieval AU.
1. Home

**1. Home**

"Sir... Excuse me, sir..."

A child's voice echoed in the darkness that engulfed him.

"Sir.. Wake up, you can't sleep here..."

The voice was a girl's, and it was annoyingly persistent.

"Sir! Wake up!"

Two palms rested on his left arm, and they shook his body. There was very little strength in those palms, but that little strength was enough to made him aware of his current state. Slowly, his senses returned. He felt the grass beneath his palm, and his bow pressing against his back. There was a smell of earth on the air, indicating that it was about to rain. However, what alerted him the most was the pain that mercilessly gnawed on his right arm.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. At first, he saw a blurred image of something yellow right above him. At first he thought it was the sun, however as his vision got sharper, he realized that he was staring at the face of a young girl with blonde hair. He observed her face for a moment, and concluded that she was around eight to ten years old.

"I'm glad you're awake!"

He tried to propped himself up, but the pain on his right arm flared, and a groan escaped his lips. He banished all thought of trying to get up quickly, and once again closed his eyes. The memory of what happened raced through his mind. He recalled being chased, surrounded, and then ganged up on unfairly. He recalled being stabbed with several swords, and shot down by numerous arrows. He recalled finally giving up, and falling onto the ground, losing consciousness in a pool of his own blood.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, regret filled her voice. "I couldn't heal all your wound..."

Curious, he opened his eyes again, and turned his head to look at her. He noticed that she was holding a staff with an amber orb attached on it. A healer, possibly from the church in a nearby city. The nearest city he could think of was Viridian, since the bastards who ganged up on him all came from that city too. On further notice, he saw several arrows lying around, she must had plucked them all off him.

"No, it's fine..." he said, "Thank you..."

His words brought a smile to her face. "It's going to rain..." she pointed out the obvious, "I know you're still tired, but you have to get out of the rain..."

Indeed the sky was dark, and the strong wind ruffled the leaves around them.

Viridian Forest. He remembered that he had escaped to Viridian Forest for dear life, but his pursuers were on horses, and they caught up to him in the end.

"Giovanni..." he spitefully hissed out the name.

"Giovanni?" the girl asked curiously, "You know the Guardian?"

"Forget it..." he said as he once again tried to propped himself up, this time much more slowly. Even though the wounds were closed, the stinging pain were still there. He can't really blame her, she was very young, and healing someone who nearly died was a big feat for a kid of her age. He stood on his two feet, and even though his footing wasn't firm, he managed to stand up without falling.

His eyes glanced around the plain. The grass were covered in the red of his blood, and there were numerous arrows lying around. He searched for his quiver, and found it lying next to the girl. When she noticed his gaze on the quiver, she quickly picked it up and eagerly offered it to him. He took it from her hand and slung it over his shoulder. When he was sure he left nothing behind, he began to limp towards the forest. The girl followed him.

"Why are you following me?" he suddenly stopped and turned to look at her.

"Ah," she looked surprised, "I... Uh... I'm heading this way too!" she lied.

"Viridian is that way, kid... Are you lost?" he said as he pointed at the other direction.

She hesitated for a moment as her tiny hands wrung her staff, "No..." she replied.

"Then go home..." he told her.

He waited for her to leave, but she didn't move one bit.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked, raising his voice slightly to scare her off.

She flinched, and looked at the ground, but then she finally said, "I don't want to go home..."

"What? You scared or something?" he asked her again. "Big bad wolf waiting for you on the way home?"

"No!" she quickly denied his accusation. "I don't want to go home..." she half-whined. "They... They did horrible things there..."

He had an idea on what she might be talking about, but he asked anyway, "Who?"

"The soldiers..." she looked down again, "They... Father Arthur, they..." she fell silent, and it took him a while to notice her quivering lips. "They kill him... And they... Burned down our church..." her voice got considerably lower and lower that it became almost inaudible. "I got away... But the others..." she finally stopped talking.

"They're all dead?"

She nodded.

He heard a lot about the craziness which had been going in Viridian for the past few days, but he never thought that it would be this bad. What was Giovanni thinking? Burning down churches and killing innocents? He was angry at himself at that moment, angry that he couldn't stop Giovanni, angry that he blew his golden chance to land a knife or an arrow in between his eyes earlier before. The only way he could fix it now is to go report this to Queen Deliah in Pallet City. What of the girl though?

He was tempted to leave her there; a little girl can only further slow him down. However, he knew that if he left her there, she's only going to end up dead, either in the hands of Giovanni's men, or the wild animals lurking in the forest. Was he cruel enough to let that happen to the girl who just saved him?

"What's your name?" he finally asked her.

"Yellow..." she replied.

"I'm heading to Pallet... it's going to be a long journey. Can you keep up?"

She nodded, "Yes, I will try..."

"Good," he said, "Follow me..."

He then turned around and headed in the direction of the Pallet City.

"W-What's your name?" Yellow asked as she followed.

He wondered if he should tell her, but then decided that there was no point in trying to hide it. "Lance..."

And their journey to Pallet City began.

* * *

To avoid stepping into the Viridian territory, Lance decided to take the long route through the uncharted wilderness. They were highly likely to encounter bandits or wild animals, but Lance could still take care of them, even in his condition. Fortunately though, nothing came in their way, and they were approaching the Pallet City at a pleasing rate.

"Here, you should eat this..." Yellow offered him blue-colored berries when they were roasting fish for dinner on their first night.

Lance looked at them, "What's this?" he asked as he picked one of them. They didn't look poisonous, but he couldn't be too sure.

"Oran berries," she told him, "Sister Ellisa told me that it helps in healing wounds. In the church, we have a garden of oran berries, and we used to make juices out of them. It's very effective. Once, I fell down and scrape my knees. I was bleeding badly, but then father Arthur gave me one, and then the wound just disappear!"

"Oh..." he wasn't convinced. Even though his whole body was still throbbing, he didn't want to risk eating something that a little girl just randomly picked off the ground. He looked at her, and surprisingly saw confidence and good-will in her eyes. "Are you sure its not poisonous?"

"I'm really, really, really, really, really-"

"Fine, shut up!" he said as he picked one and plopped it into his mouth. _Damn it, is this how I will die? _He bit the berry, and the sweet juice exploded in his mouth. It didn't taste so bad, but he was still doubting the effect. As slowly as he could, he ground the berry in his mouth, and irritably glared at the girl who was looking at him with hopeful eyes. "Happy now?"

"You should take some more," she said. "it'll help you heal faster!"

"No, I don't like it..." he told her. "Now can we just eat dinner and go to sleep? We still have a lot of distance to cover."

She looked disappointed, but finally placed away the berries in a small pouch around her belt. "Alright..." she said and plucked off her fish from the fire side.

They quietly enjoyed dinner, and went off the sleep afterwards. Yellow slept right next to him, and their closeness bothered Lance. He thought about asking her to scoot away from him, but quickly dropped that idea when he noticed that the girl already fell asleep. A chilling wind blew over them, and the small shoulder next to him shivered. Groaning inwardly, he unwound his red scarf from around his neck and unclasped his bloodied black jacket. He gently placed them over her small body, before he finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning when they woke up, he surprisingly found it less painful to move about. He didn't want to admit that she was right though, so he kept quiet about it. Yellow, however, seemed to notice that his steps were much steadier, and she couldn't help but to be pleased with herself. She smiled and hummed a little song as the continued to walk through the seemingly-endless terrain.

"What are we going to do in Pallet City?" she finally asked. "I heard the Queen lives there... Are you going to see the Queen?"

"Yeah..." he replied.

"Why do you want to see the Queen?"

"Because someone has to tell her what's going on in Viridian..."

"Oh... I see..."

She stopped humming, and the smile dropped from her face. Lance didn't need to ask to know what she was thinking about.

After a while though, she finally asked, "Lance... Where do people go when they die?"

He was caught off-guard by that question. He wavered between giving her the lengthy explanation, or the short one. He decided to go with the latter and said, "They go to heaven."

"Heaven?" she sounded surprised. "What's that?"

"It's a castle up there in the sky," he felt irritated by the nonsense he had to spew. "Angels take dead souls there and they live happily ever after." There was sarcasm in his voice, but she was too young to notice.

"Do you think... Father Arthur and the others are there yet?"

"Yes."

"How did they travel up there so fast?" she tilted her head in confusion.

"Angels can fly. Now can you stop asking questions? I'm trying to think."

"Okay..." she seemed unsatisfied, but remained silent anyway. The silence didn't last long, however, as she once again asked, "Do you think my mother and father are there too?"

There was a short pause before he replied, "Yes. All dead people go there." He sounded calmer this time. "Now, shut up."

She was finally satisfied, and resumed humming the catchy tune.

* * *

Yellow looked as if she was about to cry. Tears were there on the corner of her eyes as she angrily looked away from the cruel man before her. She took a step back, but she found herself bumping against a tree. "How could you...?" her voice trembled as she said those words. She gripped her staff tighter, he knuckles turned white, and she finally shouted out loud, "Stay away from me!"

Lance sighed as he sat down by the fire and proceeded to clean the guts of the dead rabbit he just hunted.

"If you're not going to eat this, then starve," he told her. "It's just a rabbit, haven't you ate one before?"

The blonde girl miserably let out a whine, "No..."

"It taste surprisingly good, but if you don't want it, then that means more for me," he shrugged as he dipped the slaughtered rabbit into the flowing river to clean out the blood. When he was finally done, he took out his knife to scrape off the fur, before he proceeded to light a fire to cook his lunch.

"The rabbit has done nothing wrong to you," her voice was breaking with sadness.

Lance sighed, "It went to heaven, and its much happier there. Do you want to eat it, or not?"

"No way!" the girl folded her arms, but then her stomach suddenly growled.

"Persistent kid..." he murmured as he ran a sharp stick through the rabbit and stabbed it onto the ground near the fire.

When the rabbit was finally done, Yellow still refused to eat it. He pointed out that she would starve later on, but she remained unmoved. She closed her eyes and ears as Lance's canines tear through the flesh. She was trembling, he noticed, not because she was cold, but because she was scared.

Before they continue walking, he handed her a huge apple he just shot down with his arrow. "Bothersome..." he murmured as he led on the way.

He never hunts for rabbit again for the rest of their journey.

* * *

Slowly, they approached the Pallet territory. The scenery gradually changed; from endless sea of green, to acres of paddy field, and finally the bustling market place. As they walked onward, Yellow noticed the castle that towered high up into the sky, and she could only stare in amazement and wonder at the size of it. She got unbearably excited when she realized that Lance was heading there.

The front gate of the castle was huge, and it was guarded with many soldiers. Lance walked through the gate just like that, and nobody tried to stop him. The soldiers all knew him well, even though none of them knew him well enough to greet him as he passed by. He headed for the throne room where he knew the Queen would be waiting, but before he could get close enough, someone called out for him.

"Lance!"

He turned around, and saw an old man dressed in a sage robe walking towards him. "Samuel..." he murmured his name.

Samuel Oak observed him from head to toe, and made a face, "What happened to you?" he couldn't help but to wonder, there was so much blood on his clothes.

"Giovanni happened," he bitterly replied.

A grim look made its way to the old man's face, "Is it just as the rumor said?"

"That, and more," he said. "I'm reporting this to the Queen... Are you coming?"

"Of course." He nodded and followed Lance into the throne room.

* * *

Yellow, in the meantime, had gotten separated from Lance, and was wandering aimlessly in the castle's garden. She knew she was lost, but she was too amazed by the beauty around her to even notice. The flowers were all blooming healthily. Their colors were captivatingly radiant. She leaned over to a blooming one, and sniffed the scent. She giggled happily to herself afterwards, before she moved on.

Next, she made her way to the training ground. There were a lot of people fighting there, and the sound of metal continuously rang throughout the air. She didn't like fighting that much, and the man shouting out orders and instruction made her nervous. She was about to turn and walked away, when she noticed a girl older than she who had been staring at her for a while.

The girl smiled at her and waved.

There was something about her kind smile that lured Yellow towards her.

"Hello," the older girl said, "I've never seen you around before... What's your name?"

"Yellow..." she replied while curiously observing the older female.

"It's nice to meet you, Yellow... My name's Daisy..." the smile never left her face. "Did you come here with your parents?"

Yellow shook her head, "I came here with Lance."

"Lance?" Daisy sounded surprised. "Oh my... Could it be... Are you...?" she hesitated for a moment, before the smile returned once again. "Well, Yellow... Would you care to come in for a little snack? It's still a few hours before lunch, you must be hungry, right? Come in, you can sit down inside, and I'll introduce you to Red and Green."

Yellow hesitated for a moment, before she finally nodded.

* * *

The person named Red was a curious, cheerful, raven-haired boy who sat across Yellow on the grand dining hall. Just like Daisy, he always kept a smile on his face, and he threw a lot of questions at Yellow about how she managed to get to Pallet from Viridian. Sitting next to him was Green; a brunette who seemed to have a sulking look permanently etched on his face. He didn't seem to be very friendly, since he barely talk to Yellow the moment they were introduced by Daisy.

"That's so cool!" Red exclaimed when Yellow finished recounting with the limited vocabulary she possessed. "I wish I can go out on an adventure like that too!"

Yellow smiled at him. "But I don't like it when he kill the rabbit!" she suddenly brought up the topic.

Red's eyes widened, "He killed a rabbit?"

"Yeah, and he ate it!"

At the revelation, even the young Green looked surprised.

Daisy could only smile in amusement as she watched how quickly children get along.

* * *

"So it's true," the Queen sounded concerned after she heard his story. "Giovanni... He is a Fallen Guardian now..."

"What are we going to do then, your highness?" one of the Queen's adviser asked. "We cannot stay still and let him do whatever he pleases. Shall we dispatch a troop to Viridian?"

"Yes, I think we should do that," Samuel Oak agreed. "We need to deal with him before things get out of hand."

The Queen closed her eyes for a moment, before she finally nodded, "Alright, send a troop there, and make sure Giovanni is dealt with properly..." she paused to think for a moment, before she turned her gaze at Lance, "You have done me a great favor, Lance... I'm sorry for the trouble I put you through."

"Don't mention it... I was bored anyway," he said. "Oh by the way, this kid managed to escape the chaos in Viridian, and I brought her along with me," he looked around, and only then he noticed that she was no longer by his side. A frown made its way to his face, "Her name's Yellow, and she's a healer... Maybe there's something you can do about her."

"Where is this child?"

"Somewhere around," Lance sighed, "I'll go look for her."

* * *

"That is not true!" Yellow rose from her seat and shouted at Green. "Lance is a very nice person!"

"He ate rabbits!" Green responded with an equally loud voice.

"Lance is not a demon!" she persisted with an even louder voice.

"Now, now," Daisy tried to calm them down. "Please, don't fight... Green, what you said about Lance is very rude, you should apologize to Yellow."

"Why should I apologize?" Green asked, "It's true! He's not human! Everybody said so! Red," he turned to his companion, "You heard it too, right? Everybody was saying the same thing! They all said that he's a demon!"

Yellow looked as if she was about to cry, and she would have done so if it wasn't for a voice that called out for her name.

"Yellow!"

She turned to look at the door, and saw that Lance was standing there. She quickly ran over to him and tugged on his scarf, "Lance! He's calling you a demon!" she pointed at Green. "Tell him it's not true! Tell him that he's wrong?"

For a fraction of a moment, Lance looked surprised. However, he quickly hid it, and instead, adopted an annoyed expression on his face. "I don't have time for you nonsense... The Queen wants to see you," he turned around and motioned her to follow.

She hesitated for a moment, before she turned to Green, stuck out her tongue at him, before she scurried after Lance.

"Bye, Yellow!" Red waved her goodbye.

"Ugh, I hate her..." Green mumbled.

* * *

"Lance," she finally caught up to him, and once again grabbed him by his scarf, "That's not true, is it? You're not a demon, right?"

He kept walking onward, his pace not faltering.

She looked down, "Is... Is he right...? Are you really... A demon...?"

He finally stopped, let out a loud sigh, and finally turned to look at her. "Well, what do you think, kid?" he asked, tone filled with annoyance. "Do I look like one?"

She looked at him in the eyes, before she shook her head, "No!"

"Then we're done..." and he continued leading the way to the throne room.

She followed in silence for a moment, before she finally asked again, "So then why do everybody call you a demon?" she asked.

"You're still young, you wouldn't understand..."

She wasn't satisfied with that answer, but his tone implied that he would accept no more question.

They finally arrived at the throne room. The room was huge, filled with many strange paintings and funny decorations. She didn't have much time to admire them, however, for they told her that one must act as respectfully as possible before the ruler of their Kingdom.

She stood awkwardly before the Queen, not knowing what to do. She held on to her staff tightly, and occasionally glanced up at the man standing beside her. Even though they were talking about her, she took no part in the conversation. She didn't really understand what was going on anyway.

"Yellow," the Queen suddenly addressed her. "I heard what happened to your home, and I'm sorry to hear about your loss."

"It's okay," she said with a smile, "Lance said they all went to a better place."

"Did he?" the Queen glanced at him, but did not say anything. "Yellow... Since you have nowhere else to go, why don't you stay in this castle?"

The girl's eyes went wide. "I... I can stay here?"

The Queen nodded, "Of course... And I heard from Lance about your healing power. I'm sure you can use your power to help the people of Pallet City. What do you think?"

The girl looked up at the man, and waited for him to make the decision.

Lance, however, only stared back. "... The Queen was asking you. Not me."

She tilted her head in confusion, "Then what about you?"

He shrugged, "I travel a lot..."

"I want to go with you!" the girl quickly grabbed onto his scarf again. "Don't leave me!"

"Listen, I come back here every once in a while, so you don't need to worry about that..." he restrained himself letting his annoyance show.

"But..."

"Kid, where I'm going, they eat rabbits everyday, and nothing else," he hated himself for always having to spew out nonsense in front of her. "Do you really want to come with me?"

Her eyes were filled with terror, and she shook her head in fear.

He patted her on the head and said, "I'll come back..."

"Promise...?"

"Promise."

Lance left her with Samuel Oak afterwards, and even though she was reluctant to say goodbye, she held on to the promise that he would come back for her.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Heyaa! I'm back~!**

**Its been a long time since I post anything here, so I thought I might as well drop this. **

**It;s my second attempt in writing a medieval fic, so I'm hoping this time, it'll all work out well.**

**Please comment, critic and review!**

**With love, Eleria-chan.**


	2. Maiden of Miracles

**2. Maiden of Miracles**

There were eight major cities in the Kingdom of Kanto; Pallet, Viridian, Pewter, Cerulean, Vermillion, Fuchsia, Celadon and Saffron. Each city flourished under the watchful eyes of their respective Guardian, and the Guardians had been nothing but faithful to the duties given to them by God. However, lately, something began to change. The Guardians were no longer themselves, they were consumed by a force none can comprehend. Chaos and death arose in each city, war and massacre took the lives of many innocents. One by one, the Guardians abandoned their duties, and one by one, they fell into the darkness...

The Guardian of Viridian was the first to fall, followed by the Guardian in Vermillion, Saffron and then Fuchsia. They crossed to the dark sides, and began a war against mankind. Nobody could fight back, for what human possess the power to overcome divine beings such as themselves? Those who has yet to fall helped the humans in any way they could, but fear was in their hearts. They knew that only an intervention from a higher being could cause this calamity, so what heavenly being had passed such cruel judgement? Could it be that Archeus herself did it?

Nobody knew for sure, and even though the Queen herself was unsure, she steeled herself and did her best to deal with the forces of those Fallen Guardians.

"Hm?" a young man frowned in confusion when he saw a group of commoners waiting by the front gate of the castle early in the morning. It was the first time he had witnessed such peculiarity. "What are they doing?"

"Oh..." the Palet soldier beside him noticed what he was looking at and smiled, "They're here to see the Maiden of Miracles..."

"Maiden of Miracles?" the soldier sounded confused.

"Well... It's kind of hard to explain..." the man went silent for a moment, before he finally continued, "Basically, there's a fair maiden here who can heal people's wound without using any staff or wand... It's an unusual ability, and rumor started that she's a maiden sent down by Archeus. People believe that, and they started coming here everyday... There weren't that many a few years ago, but now the number of believers keep on increasing..."

"So... They're all here just to see her?"

"Yeah... See her, give offerings, ask for blessings... Pretty much everything. I don't really believe in that kind of fairytale though. She is one pretty lass, alright, but something like miracles... She must be using some kind of trick."

"I'd like to see her once..." the young man smirked as he ran his fingers through his raven hair. "Where is she? Got any idea?"

"Hey, hey... Don't try to do anything reckless, who are you anyway?" the soldier studied the young man for a moment.

"Who am I?" the young man snorted as he folded his arms. "You've got so much to learn... Don't really not have any idea who I am?"

The soldier was still suspicious nonetheless. "No... May I have your name?"

The young man snorted again, "My name's Gold," he declared, "And I am the Queen's nephew!"

The soldier's eyes went wide, "Sir Gold!" he quickly bowed, "I'm sorry! Forgive me for my ignorance! I didn't recognized you!"

The boy rolled his eyes, "Oi," he pulled a long staff from his back and used it to nudged the soldier's cheek. "Just because I don't look a lot like my mother, doesn't mean you can use that as an excuse... My mother is the Queen's sister, so technically, I'm a Prince. You should know my face a long time ago. What did they teach you during your training, huh?"

"Sir, I will not repeat this mistake!"

Gold puts away his long iron staff and sighed, "I won't report you if you just tell me where this Maiden of Miracles is..."

The soldier gave him her location without hesitation, and Gold quickly sent him off. He gave the commoners outside one last glance, before he directed his steps to the castle's garden. The day was still very young, the sun had barely rose over the horizon, and yet a beautiful song could already be heard from the garden. The song was of a language he couldn't recognized, but the voice which sang it was truly beautiful, as if it belonged to an angel. Enchanted, Gold quickly rushed to the source of the sweet melodies that danced over the cool morning air.

Once he reached there, he didn't have to look far. By the fountain in the center of the garden, a fair young maiden sat, her eyes closed as she sang the mysterious song to the heavens. He stood there for a moment, frozen with awe. Never had he seen such a beautiful maiden before. She was dressed in a finely-made white robe with a stunning amber cross etched on the back, an elegant thin veil covered her hair, but it hid not the fact that her hair was the color of the brightest gold. She was small as compared to any other women he had wooed before, but her beauty... It was simply astonishing.

When she finally finished singing, she smiled to the water in the fountain and dipped her hand into it. Gold quickly recovered from his frozen state, tidied his hair, and quickly made his way to her.

"Excuse me, milady..." Gold said when he was finally close enough.

She seemed startled to hear his voice, but finally relaxed when she saw his face.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," he offered her his best smile, the smile he only reserved for the ladies worthy of it. "However, I just happen to walk by, and I can't help but heard your voice..."

"Ah," she looked surprised, "If I happen to cause any inconvenience, allow me to apologize beforehand..."

"No, no, it's nothing like that..." he replied. "I just thought that..." he paused, and acted as if he was at loss for words, "Your voice... It can put the angels to shame."

She smiled gladly in return, "Thank you very much, it makes me happy to hear that."

"May I have your name?"

"Yes, my name's Amarillo... But everyone here calls me Yellow. And you must be Gold, right?"

He tried not to show his surprise, "How did you know?"

"Green told me about you," she replied.

He fought the urge to groan, "Ah... Green, I'm sure he has nothing nice to say about me?"

Yellow nodded, "He told me that you're _a cheap, pathetic womanizer, _and that I should stay away from you."

He finally couldn't suppressed his groan any longer. "That guy..." he hissed as he placed his palm over his face. "Archeus, I really want to beat his face for once..."

"Oh please, do not be offended," Yellow told him. "Green never likes anybody, you see... Except for his sister, Daisy. I'm sure you're an honorable gentleman, Gold..."

He scratched his head in embarrassment, "Well... Uh, sure!" he tried to laugh, but it came out stiff. "Uh, so, Yellow..." he said as he sat next to her. "You're... The one they call 'Maiden of Miracles'?"

She smiled, but there was no emotion in it, "Ah..." she looked down onto her white boots, unsure on how to respond to that. "I'm nothing like the rumors said, the people of Pallet... They were exaggerating the tales. What I do is no miracle, it is only a simple healing process. Just like any common healer, I manipulate magic, nothing more, nothing less."

"Well, they were right about one thing though," Gold smiled. "You are indeed a very beautiful woman..."

A tint of pink formed on her cheeks, "Thank you..." she said. "Hearing that makes me happy, but..." she paused, then shook her head. "No, I am grateful for your compliment. It's not everyday that I can encounter a gentleman such as yourself."

Gold was nonetheless confused. "Why would you say that? Is there someone in this castle who isn't treating you right?"

She smiled again, "No, nothing like that... It's just that... Well..." she hesitated for a moment. "There's someone... Who I am fond of, however... It seems to him that I am nothing more than a bothersome child..."

"That is not true," Gold frowned, who in their right mind would treat her like a bothersome child?

"That's what Red and Green told me as well," Yellow replied. "However the fact remains that he prefers to ignore me when I have nothing important to say to him. I understand that he's a very busy man, but to think that he barely have a moment to spare for me..." she fell silent.

"Then he is a man not worthy of your time," Gold said.

Yellow giggled in amusement, "That's what Red said to me as well... You two are very much alike."

"Well, technically, we're cousins..." Gold shrugged.

Yellow was about to respond to that, however, that was when a loud voice rang throughout the air. The voice was calling out for her name, and they both turned to look at the source. They were surprised to find out that Green was walking towards them, his trademark grumpiness clear on his face. He briskly made his way towards them, his dark green robe rustling as he did so.

"Yellow," he said, voice heavy and filled with sternness, "What did I tell you about hanging around with this guy?"

"Hey, we're only chatting," Gold suddenly rose, annoyance in his voice. "What's your problem?"

"My problem is that you're trying to hit on my friend," Green looked at him in the eyes as he replied. "And I do not like it."

"Green," Yellow rose and came in between them, afraid that something ugly might happen. "Gold wasn't trying to hit on me... He's a good person, and I enjoy talking with him. Please, do not start trouble early in the morning."

Green looked at her, "I don't like him, Yellow... And I told you, didn't I? He's a womanizer."

"Green," Yellow returned the look with equal determination. "I am not so naive as to fall for womanizers."

"You fell for Lance." He pointed out.

Her face quickly turned crimson, "T-That has nothing to do with this!" she stammered, clearly nervous when Green suddenly brought up that name.

"You cannot judge people well, Yellow... You will blindly trust anyone as long as they show you some kindness... For that reason, I worry about you," Green replied. "Anyone could easily take advantage of you, and you still wouldn't notice. That's just how naive you are."

"Stop being so mean..." she half-whined.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

A raven haired young man suddenly approached. Gold quickly identify him when he saw his unnaturally messy hair and clueless, goofy smile. Just like his name, his eyes were of the beautiful shade of red, highly charming and enticing. He donned a form-fitting royal garment, a silver shoulder guard was strapped over his right shoulder, and around his silver belt, a well-made silver sword hung down. He was supposed to be wearing his royal garments, but it seemed as if he was just getting ready for a morning training.

"You all look so troubled," he continued, "Did something happen?"

"Well, your cousin here is trying to make a move on Yellow," Green was the first to reply.

"I was not, we were just chatting," Gold denied.

"Green is being mean again..." Yellow said.

Red tilted his head in confusion, before he turned to Green, "Stop creating trouble."

Green frowned, "How can you pin the blame on me?" he half-hissed.

"Well, because it's always you," Red smiled. "Isn't that obvious?"

Green grunted, "No, it's not."

"And anyway," Red quickly diverted the topic, "Green and I are heading to the training ground, would you like to come along, Gold?"

Feeling that the mood was ruined by Green already, Gold quietly sighed and nodded, "Sure."

"Ah," Yellow's face quickly brightened, "May I come along too?"

Green shot her a look, "You're going there only to see Lance, aren't you?"

"No I'm not!" she denied a moment too soon. "If any of you gets hurt, I'll be able to help."

"Nobody gets hurt during training," Green pointed out.

"What are you getting at?" Gold coldly spoke to Green, "If she wants to come along, then you don't have the right to say 'no'."

"This is none of your business," Green replied with equal coldness in his voice.

"Is it just me, or the does the air feel kind of tense around here?" Red asked clueless-ly.

"Please, stop arguing," Yellow miserably said.

"... I don't like you," Green said, before he turned around and walked away.

"I don't like you too!" Gold shouted after him.

Red chuckled, "Ah, it's good to see that you guys are getting along."

"Getting along?" Gold stared at him with an incredulous look on his face. "We're far from getting along."

Red walked on, and the two of them followed. "Green has a strange way of making friends. When he said he doesn't like you, it means he finds you intriguing."

Gold's eyes went wide, "You've got to be kidding me..." he murmured as he stared at the figure walking ahead.

"It's true, however..." Yellow confirmed. "Green... He's a very strange person, but deep inside... He's actually very caring and nice."

Gold was tempted to believe her, but he was not convinced.

* * *

"You called, Deliah?" Lance asked the woman standing by the window as he closed the door behind him. This wasn't the first time he was summoned to the Queen's chamber, so he carelessly made himself comfortable on one of the available seats.

For a moment, the Queen was silent, but then she said, "Gold arrived from Johto last evening... He brought news of the current affairs in Johto. He informed me that the same thing is happening to their Guardians as well."

"Well, it's about time..." Lance replied.

"So far, only Pryce and Clair has fallen, the others are still unaffected, but... The destruction and chaos, however, are still spreading. They have an army, Lance, and army of Seraphs..."

"You and I both know that there's nothing we can do about it..." Lance sighed.

"But there has to be something," the Queen sounded distress. "We cannot let the people die."

"_You _cannot let them die," he corrected. "I don't really care what happen to the humans. Besides, this is Archeus' will, what right do you have to oppose him? You are a Guardian, one of his servants, it is not your duty to do what he wants you to do?"

"There has to be a mistake..." the Queen closed her eyes. "The humans... They don't deserved this."

"Humans don't deserve this?" his tone suddenly turned dark.

She glanced at him, and found that he was staring at him with a dangerous look. She swallowed, not liking the hate she sensed in his heart.

"Many races," Lance stood and walked over to her. She remained still, determined not to move for one inch. "Have been wipe out, by humans... Remember the elves? There used to be a lot of them in Kanto, what do you think happened to them?" he stood close, his arms folded, his posture relaxed, and yet his tone was filled with danger. "And the nine-tailed foxes? What about the werewolves? And Phoenix? Where are they now?"

He threw a lot of question, but all she gave him was silence.

"Humans fear what they don't know, they fear what they cannot enslave. And what they fear, they slaughter. Mercilessly. And now you're saying that the humans don't deserve this?"

"I apologize..." she finally said. "I must have offended you greatly... But, you know that not all humans are like that..."

"They poisoned the water in which the mermaids inhabited," he raised his voice. "The world knows that! You know that! And yet, did any of you raised your voice?"

"The man responsible was put to prison already!" she argued.

"A whole race was wipe out," Lance hissed as he grabbed her by her neck. "The life of one human is not enough to atone for that sin... Heck, you didn't even kill him. You let him live. Is that supposed to be fair? Why is everyone letting it slide, Deliah?"

Fear gripped her heart, she felt her stomach flipped, and emotions welled up in her chest. She closed her eyes and replied, "Death will not fix things."

"It will..." he said, "And Archeus felt the same way, that's why she's doing this... This world will be a better place without humans."

He released her neck and sat on his seat again.

Deliah fought the urge to break down under his intense glare. "Then what about Yellow...? She's a human, isn't she...?"

"This has nothing to do with her!" he angrily snapped.

"It does!" she cried out. "The day you brought her here was the first time I ever saw you smile... You care for her, don't you?" he did not answer. "If you hate human," the Queen continued, "Then what about her...?"

"I don't care for her," he rose from his seat again.

"That's not true."

"Then we'll just have to wait and see..." he headed for the door. "The time is near, Deliah... Choose wisely which side you're on. You're a fine Guardian, but you put too much love into such close-minded beings..." he opened the door, and stepped out of the room.

"They're not close-minded," Deliah called out to him. "They're just misguided."

"Tell that to Archeus..." and then he closed the door behind him.

* * *

Lance walked through the hallways of the Pallet castle with his blood still boiling. It wasn't like him to lose control of his emotions so easily, but when discussion about humanity came up, he just couldn't hold it. Humans had caused him too much pain and suffering. How can he forgive them? Even after so many years, the memory of what they had done was still fresh in his mind, as if it happened just yesterday. Those memories haunted his every sleep, and also his every waking moment. Hell would freeze over before he could ever forgive them.

"Lance!" a familiar feminine voice called out for him. He stopped and turned around to look. A blonde young woman rushed towards him, a bright smile on her face. When they were finally close enough, she stopped and said, "I didn't see you in the shooting range this morning," she said, "Where were you?"

"It's none of your business." Queen Deliah's words rang in his mind as he turned around to walk away.

She persisted though, and followed. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"The roof."

"You're going to take a nap? It's not even morning yet."

"I'm staying there for some time, so don't follow me." He told her.

She fell silent, but she still followed him nonetheless.

Lance sighed as he suddenly stopped and turned to her, "Is there something you need from me?" he asked as he folded his arms.

She hesitated for a moment, before she shook her head. "No.."

"Then go do something else, don't bother me..." he waited for her to go, but she did not move. "Well?"

"I want to go with you..." she said as she wrung her hands together and kept her gaze fixed at the stone floor. "Is that okay?"

"No, it's not. Aren't you supposed to be healing people instead of bothering me?"

"I'm done for today," she looked up at him with hope in her eyes. "And I was thinking that maybe... I can spend some time with you... You've been so busy lately, and we haven't got the chance to talk, so... I... Uh..."

For some reason, his rage died down, and he felt a lot calmer than before. With a sigh, he proceeded on his way, "Fine, do whatever you want..."

He heard her footsteps behind, and it was enough to tell him that she was indeed planning on following him to the roof. Of course, he couldn't possibly take her there, skills and guts were required to get up there, and he was certain that Yellow possessed neither. So without even thinking about it, he directed his steps to the garden where he knew they could be in peace. However, right at that moment, the Queen's words once again rang in his head, and he abruptly stopped.

"Lance, what's a whore?"

All thoughts about the Queen was banished from his mind as he turned to look at her, "Who taught you that word?"

She suddenly looked nervous, "Uh... Green was shouting it at Gold this morning in the training ground. He said that Gold sleeps around with whores. Gold got really mad, and now you're reacting like this, uh... So, is it a really bad word?"

He scolded himself for getting so worked up. There was nothing wrong with what she was asking. It's natural for a girl of her age to be curious about adult terms. It's a part of growing up. So then why did he get the urge to strangle Green?

"They are women who will have sex with any man as long as they get paid for it..." he replied.

"Oh, I see..." Yellow murmured, and then she fell silent.

After years of answering her questions, Lance learned to fear this kind of silence.

Moments passed, and then she finally asked, "What's sex?"

Lance never felt so tempted to kill Green.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Chapter 2 is up! **

**I think I kinda screw up with the characterization here and there, but I hope you guys enjoy the story anyway!**

**Please comment, critic and review!**

**With love, Eleria-chan.**


	3. Frozen Heart

**3. Frozen Heart**

The night was cold, dark and lonely. The moon was nowhere in sight, and the sky was of the darkest shade imaginable. Soldiers standing guard around the Pallet castle's proximity shivered as the chilling wind blew over them, their heart raced whenever they hear any sound nearby. It was an eerie night indeed, and yet Lance found the night to be strangely soothing. In a sense, it felt as if nothingness had engulfed the land and he had nothing else to worry save for the coldness which threatened to chill his marrow.

From the top of that roof, he gazed at the window on the opposite side of the courtyard. The candle was still burning, he could tell. Yellow had not fallen sleep just yet.

"And you tell me that you couldn't care any less about her..." a voice spoke from behind him.

Lance turned around to face his companion. "What took you so long, Giovanni?"

The man was huge and tall, and he was reasonably dressed in a dark robe which had been the trademark of the students of darkness ever since the beginning of time. Giovanni let out a low chuckle, before he said, "I'm sorry, I was caught up in some minor business with Koga..." he stepped up next to Lance, and looked down at the window which Lance had been staring at. "Tell me more about her."

"There's nothing to tell," Lance replied, "She is just a girl who persisted in following me around after the incident in Viridian..."

"Oh really? Judging from the way you've been staring at her window, I believe that there's more than that." Giovanni said with a knowing smirk.

"There's nothing more than that..."

Giovanni smiled lightly, "You can't get attached to her, Lance... She's a human."

"Giovanni, I know better than you not to meddle with humans... She's just... A toy. Something to amuse me when I'm bored. That is all... I've been waiting around for seventy-five years, I need entertainment."

"I thought Delia kept you busy with all those errands all around the land."

"Busy, yes... Entertained, no." he glanced at him and changed the topic, "Anyway, I assume that you're here with some good news?"

"No, not this time," Giovanni shook his head in dismay. "The other Guardians won't listen to reason... They're going to stubbornly protect the humans, even if it's going to cost them their life. They wouldn't believe that Archeus would destroy his own creation just like that."

"Fools," Lance hissed, "They're throwing away their lives for the humans?"

"You have to understand that these Guardians were still very young, and all of them were humans before they took up the duty, unlike the rest of us. They know what humans have done, but they're clueless about how terrible their actions were."

"Then they deserve to die as well..."

"... How about Delia? Has she change her mind?"

Lance shook his head, "No... She insisted that their annihilation is pointless. I can not change her mind."

Giovanni closed his eyes, "Ah... So that's how it is."

"I do not understand her," Lance suddenly said, "Why do she insists on protecting those humans? Why? She is aware of what they have done, she has been around since the beginning of time after all, so then why...?"

"That, I cannot understand as well," Giovanni replied. "... We will have to fight her sooner or later. When that time comes, do you think you will be prepared, Lance?"

"I am always prepared..."

"Then I'm counting on you..."

"And I, on you..."

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me, right?" Gold murmured as he rubbed his aching temple. He admitted that the Maiden of Miracles was indeed a very beautiful woman, unlike any other he had seen before. She was beautiful, kind and yet also naive beyond boundaries. His head had long turned numb ever since she started talking about how he shouldn't be sleeping around with whores. She acted as if she knew better even though it seemed that she just learned what whores and sex meant the day before.

"Gold, please, I am not joking," Yellow replied, "Lance said it's wrong to sleep around with whores, because not only you can get a disease, you are also likely to father a child who you are not prepared for."

"Who is this Lance guy anyway?" Gold asked, _seems like he knows a lot._

"He's..." she thought about it for a moment, "A very gentle and kind person. Often, his words are harsh, but have no doubt that there's kindness in him..." her eyes soon adopted a dreamy look, "Ah... He must have been a knight when he was younger, for his posture is remarkable, and his combat skills admirable."

"Hey, you're getting carried away."

She soon snapped back to reality and blushed, "Ah, I apologize..."

"Well, I'm glad that you're worried about me, but rest assure, I don't sleep with whores," his brows furrowed when he recalled the incident on the training field with Green. He quickly pushed it out of his mind though, for he had better things planned for the day. "If you'll excuse me, milady, I have some matters to attend to."

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry for holding you back."

"It's not a problem, I will see you soon."

"Yes, goodbye." she waved him off and watched as he disappeared around the corner, before she turned and walked towards the library. During her younger days, Lance always forced her to sit there for hours and teach her how to read and write. He was a patient teacher, and he never once raised his voice at her. He was so kind to her back then, but now, she couldn't help but to notice that something in him was beginning to change.

She couldn't tell for sure, but he was a lot colder, and quieter. As if something was burdening his mind. She wanted to make him tell all his trouble, but Lance was never willing to open up to her.

_Well, I'm going to force it out of him today, _she thought to herself and steeled her resolve, _I'm going to do it!_

When she entered the library, she hoped that he would be there, since he was a man of habit, and he usually spent his afternoons in the library, however, he was nowhere to be found. She searched through the many aisles there, with no apparent luck.

"Where could he be...?" she wondered to herself. _If he's not here, then he must be running an errand for the Queen. _She was disappointed, but decided that she would try again the next day.

_Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow._

* * *

Tomorrow came, and she still couldn't find him anywhere. She searched through the whole place, asked every single person she came across, and even dared herself to climb up to the roof. However, even after she toiled and sweated to reached the roof, she still couldn't find him.

The next day, she did the same thing, and yet he was nowhere to be found.

Unbearably curious, she decided to go and ask the Queen. On that particular evening, she showed up in the Queen's chamber unannounced.

The Queen greeted her warmly with a smile though. "Yellow, good evening," she greeted the figure who stood by her door.

"Good evening, my Queen," Yellow replied as she closed the door behind her and bowed at her. "I am sorry for disturbing you, but I have a question concerning Lance..."

The Queen, who had been standing by the window, quickly turned her gaze outside, hiding her internal conflict from the young blonde.

"I have not seen him for the past few days. I believe that you have sent him for another errand. Do you know when he will return?"

The Queen fell silent, before she finally replied, "That... I cannot say."

Yellow was nonetheless baffled, "You... Don't know?"

"No, I don't," she confirmed. "Lance left on his own accord, I do not know when he will return."

"Oh, I see," a strange feeling took over her, but she decided to push it away for the moment. "Then, I'm sorry for bothering you, my Queen... I will take my leave. Excuse me." she bowed again, and turned to leave, but then the Queen stopped her.

"Yellow," queen Delia called out her name. "Stay for a while... I believe that we have something to discuss."

Yellow looked dropped her intention of leaving and eyed the Queen curiously, "What is it about?"

The Queen deeply inhaled, before she turned to face the young girl, her flaming red gown elegantly swirling along. "About Lance..." she motioned towards one of the available seats. "Please, sit down."

Yellow reluctantly complied. The chair the Queen indicated was too big for her, and so she found it hard to settled comfortably on that chair. Still, she did not show her discomfort on her face as she once again asked, "What's wrong with Lance?"

The Queen walked over to the seat across Yellow, and gracefully seated herself. "First of all, I would like to ask you... Who is Lance to you?"

"He is a very important person to me," she replied without hesitation.

"... And why is he such an important person to you?"

"My Queen," she smiled, "Isn't the answer obvious? When my home was destroyed, I thought I lost everything. I thought that I too will die, just like all my friends. However, Lance saved me, and not only he brought me to a new home, he patiently nurture and care for me..." she paused for a moment, before continuing, "I still remember the day when I fell sick many years ago..."

* * *

_Hot. Everything around her felt so hot. Even though it was winter, her body was uncomfortably burning up with a fever. The castle's doctor had checked her, but he only shook his head when Daisy asked him of her condition. Yellow caught a glimpse of fear on Daisy's feature, but she quickly hid it from her._

_It was hot._

_"It's been ten days," Yellow overheard Daisy talking with someone outside her door. "It's getting worse. The doctor said that she might..." her words were abruptly chocked by a sob._

_She was weak, too weak to actually understand what those words meant. She heard her door creaking open though, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Lance standing by her bedside._

_"Lance..." she weakly called his name._

_He reached out and covered her forehead with his huge hand. "How are you feeling?"_

_"Better." she forced a smile._

_"Well, you're obviously not getting any better," he murmured as he lifted his hand, and then offered her a small flask with another. "Here, drink this."_

_He helped her up, and held the flask as she slowly gulped down the strange, thick liquid. It tasted sweet, too sweet to her liking though. When she finished the content, she asked, "What's that?"_

_"Medicine," he replied as he gently laid her down again. "My mother taught me how to make it..."_

_"Oh..."_

_"You should feel a lot better when you wake up..." _

_She felt his weight leaving the side of her bed, and quickly, without even thinking about it, she grabbed him by his hand. She looked up at him, he seemed to be surprised. "Lance... Please... stay..." she murmured weakly, her voice barely audible. Her head felt funny for some reason, must have been the medicine._

_"..."_

_"Don't leave me..." she managed to chocked out as everything began to feel fuzzy._

_He didn't say anything, but once again, she felt his weight on her bedside, and it was enough to convince her that he wasn't going to leave. She soon fell asleep peacefully._

* * *

"That's right," Yellow said, "He saved my life... Again. And that wasn't the last time. There was that time when Green struck me with a thunder magic, and also that time when Red and I were attacked by wolves in the nearby forest... Not only that, he was the one who taught me how to read and write. My Queen, is it impossible for me to forget the kindness he has shown me..."

"Yes, I have to agree that Lance is indeed a kind person," Deliah smiled, before she continued. "But... I am sure you're aware of the land's current condition?"

Yellow nodded, even though she wasn't sure how Lance would be related to it. Sure, his work involved a lot of sneaking around, but he couldn't have gotten himself into big trouble, right?

"The Guardians are turning against humans one after another... Many innocent lives are killed in the hands of the Seraphs. Each and everyday, many people outside our Kingdom are dying, Yellow... Do you know why this happens?"

She hesitated, but finally replied, "Green told me that Archeus is angry... She's angry at the humans for all the races they have killed, and so she decided to assign the Guardians to kill the humans, to kill us..."

"That is correct," she nodded, "However, there are some Guardians, those who still believe in humans kindness, who did not heed the command they were given. Instead of destroying, we keep trying to protect... Yes, we are doubting Archeus' command, but death will not fix anything. It will only bring about more pain... We believe that there are better ways to solve the issue..."

"Yes, I agree..." Yellow said. "Why can't the others see that though?"

"I do not understand as well... However, it is for certain that the rest of us will keep on fighting to change Archeus' mind. A war is going to be inevitable, Yellow... It is us, against those Guardians and Seraphs..." she paused for a moment, before finally adding, "And perhaps... Lance as well..."

Yellow's eyes widened slightly. "What...?"

Deliah nodded sadly, "I'm afraid... That he's not going to be on our side..."

"But... Why...?" her voice came out weakly.

"Yellow... I'm sure you've heard the rumors about Lance. Particularly about how he is not a human... The rumor is true, Lance isn't a human to begin with..."

Yellow took some time to digest the information, before she looked at the Queen in the eyes and said, "I know that already... I know that he's not exactly a human. Even though he never told me what he truly is, he hinted it on several occasions... Still, his true identity barely bothers me... I am more concerned of his decision. Why would he side with the enemies, and not us? I mean, I know that he's not the kind of person who shows his fondness, but I am certain that-" she was speaking so fast the the Queen found it hard to follow. "It's just not possible..."

"Yellow..." The Queen spoke, and the blonde girl fell silent. "Lance is the last member of the dragon tribe..."

"The... Dragon tribe?"

"Yes... The Dragon tribe inhabited the mountainous area to the west of this Kingdom. They were a powerful and wise tribe. Despite their strength and capability, they hated violence and prefer to live peacefully along with the humans. They are completely harmless, and yet..."

"And yet?"

Deliah sighed quietly, "A hundred and fifty years ago, King Orson of the Johto Kingdom was assassinated... You have to understand that at that time... King Orson was a very wise King, loved by all of his people. He was not only generous, but caring and charismatic. There was not a single soul who was not charmed by him. When he was assassinated, the whole country was thrown into chaos. The common people rose with anger, they were ready to kill the one responsible for the assassination... Someone then frames the Dragon tribe."

Yellow gasped, "That's horrible!"

"In just one night, the member of the Dragon tribe was wiped out... Even though they were powerful, they were caught unprepared. Only one managed to slip out of the massacre that night..."

Her chest ached from just hearing the story. She never knew that something so terrible had happened to him. No wonder he was always acting so cold and uncaring. No wonder he decided to side with the fallen Guardians instead.

"Lance came to our Kingdom right after the massacre. He was very shaken, he would neither sleep nor eat for several months. When his senses finally returned to him, he told me that he would live for the sake of revenge..."

Yellow was at lost for words, and so she said nothing in return.

"If... You were to face him one day, and if the fate of humanity lies on your capability of killing him. Would you... Would you do it?"

She thought about it for a moment, trying to picture the scenario in her head. It was hard though, she had never been in a fight before. "I..." she finally said after a few moment. "I do not think I can do it..."

"... So you're going to let him annihilate all of us?"

Yellow smiled, "I am a human. If he wishes to kill me, then so be it... My Queen, I am sorry for speaking so frankly, but... From the moment he rescued my and take me under his wings, my life already belongs to him. If taking it away can soothe the pain in his heart, then I will give my life willingly..."

Deliah stared at her for a moment, before she finally rose from her seat and said, "Thank you for giving me such an honest answer, Yellow... You may leave now."

"Yes. Thank you for telling me all about it... Have a good night, Your Highness..."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you for all the reviewer, and sorry for being so late!**

**Please comment, critic and review!**

**With love, Eleria-chan.**


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